Calm...

I thought I would share some of my favourite piano music today. I have most of it on my I-pod and it is so so lovely to just sit and listen to when I'm feeling stressed or want to just chill out. I also have the sheet music for most of it so if anyone plays the piano and wants the music just leave a comment and I will try and send it to you (it's not too hard probs about grade 6ish) Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to add the video to you tube so here are the links!:

Kiss the Rain by Yiruma

River flows in you by Yiruma-This was supposed to be in Twilight, if your interested, as Bella's lullaby. It should have been, it's so lovely!

Le Onde by Ludovico Einaudi (just search any of his music cos it's all heavenly!)

Speaking of music, I thought I would just show two photos from this christmas. Whilst I got a knit your own monkey in my cracker, my brother got...a Ukelele! ha ha! He is actually getting quite good but has a problem with the chord A7, (don't ask!) This was the face he pulled when trying to play it...

And this was the face he pulled when he had got it right! Priceless! Yeah he is a bit of a joker! Lol!

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone has a really lovely new year! ( I will probs blog cos we don't really do a lot for it but to everyone who does celebrate, have a lovely lovely time!)

xxxxxxxxx

Monkey Mania

I am beyond happy cos my lovely friend Lizzie has just posted a tutorial for sock monkeys! How awesome is that?!!! I do have a minor obsession with them, I dunno they are just so cheeky and fun. Maybe we should go back a few years to understand this...ok?

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was about 18 months old. Being the first child her mummy and daddy had filled her cot with lots of lovely cuddley toys. All the grandparents who came also brought soft toys. She was very loved but hadn't found a toy she really really liked. The soft cat was nice but she wasn't too fussed.

Then her mummy and daddy decided to move house. Her nursery teacher decided to give this little girl a leaving present. She gave her a small, brown, furry monkey with velcro paws that stuck together and a long tail. He was the perfect size to hold and had lovely dark eyes.

The little girl fell in love with him and named him.."Monkey" she took him everywhere, even to her daddy's ordination...

Dolls were nice but monkey was just the tops. He even went in her dolls pram and in the carry cot. Monkey did everything with her. monkey even came on holiday, and the little girl who was growing up to be a big girl got very upset if monkey wasn't there with her.

A few years later the little girl had two family cats. They committed a horrible crime. One day after school she came home to find that monkey's nose had been almost bitten off and the stuffing was leaking out, the little girl screamed, which freaked her mum out, but she decided she had good reason to! The marks are still there today...

When the little girl learnt to sew, her first attempts at clothes were for her monkey, he still wears the shirt she made for him today. When the little girl became a big girl and then a rather little women she learnt to knit and made a scarf just the right size for Monkey's neck. Monkey is still cuddled most nights even though he is just a little bit thread bare! THE ENDJust look at how much fur he has lost from the first piccy! ha ha! Oh n in case you are wondering his velcro paws do still stick together! I guess this now explains where the monkey mania comes from, anyone else have tutorials for a crafted monkey, I would LOVE to hear of them to add to my collection! Thanks for indulging in a little story time!

Loves xxxxxxxxx

The aftermath!

Christmas is over..sob sob. We had an awesome time, very quiet on christmas day. Just the five of us but it was great to have family time together. I got some wonderful presents, a few of my fav's in my stocking were: Noel Streatfield books. I got this for my very own, after 10 years borrowing library copies! Lol! several of these..Mmmh, I think I might have squealed in delight!

The Amy Butler pattern for this bag..and some gorgeous material, pink and lime green, flipping awesome combo of colours!

miss-matched knee socks. I mean, how cool is that???!!

we have a tradition of my mum making her own crackers. Rather than a little cheapy present, she puts a small note telling us where our present is hidden. After the main course we all race to find the presents. They are normally jokey or something we can play like a board game. This year my brother got a Ukelele! and I got a knit your own monkey!!!!!! (age 8-12, ok it's difficult!!!) This was my reaction when I opened it. For the record, I LOVE monkeys!

My main present was a new lens for my camera! It's lush, f/1.8! woooooh. Pictures below were all taken with it, check out that depth of field!

anyways, it was a lovely lovely christmas, hope u all had a fab time!

Thanks for reading Loves xxxxxxxxx

CHRISTMAS EVE!

I have a little friend who's in year 7 who most people think of as my sister because apaprently we look really similar. Anyway she is the sweetest thing and texted me this morning with "it's christmas eve!!!" Bless her heart, I am so glad someone else gets as excited as me! It's so close now. We are having our traditional christmas eve lunch; gammon, jacket potatoes, crisps, nice cheeses and dips! mmmmhhh.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my year of photos, I love Amy's idea of creating a scrapbook page on them. What an awesome idea. Oh n by popular demand, I will show a tutorial for the owl! Lol!

I promised a last minute decoration to make:

I got the design for these from the lovely Nicole Heady they are so easy to make and she has great instructions. I am using them as place names on the table on christmas day and have so far kept them a secret from the family. Let's hope they're not reading this! eeek!

I also have a little tradition where my brothers and I take a picture of the three of us and then I create a page with it for my parents:

It's a very simple design. I wanted to get a wreath kind of look. The trick is to layer up the paper using pop dots pr sticking straight onto the background. I used papers from basic grey so they all happily co ordianted! To lead the eye across the picture I sewed around the wreath and then added three orange buttons that create a visual trinagle. I'm so pleased with how it has turned out!

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog the last few months, I have loved getting to know many of you. Have a fabulous and peaceful christmas! Tommorow is definitely a non blogging day! ha ha!

God bless, Loves xxxxxxxxxxx

Nearly there..

So close to christmas now. Only 2 more sleeps! woooh. Am sitting here typing, listening to my mum playing the piano. So beautiful.

thought I would share a few fav. pictures of the last few days! Thanks for stopping by

Loves xxxxx

Favourite moments/photos of 2009 Part 3

My mum is cooking the gammon, the snow still lies inches thick and the sound of my brother cooking cake is ringing through the house. It has to be nearly christmas. My brothers and I almost hate the 23rd. It's so close to christmas but not quite! Anyway back to the last episode of piccys!

Our summer holiday to Virginia in the USA! It was wonderful, hot and so much fun!

I got rather excited about the brown paper bags! Lol! (ok, they are so much nicer than plastic ones?!)

I always make a mini book on our holiday, to see the full thing click this link

Theo (the black one) and Emme (tabby) came to live with us. They were 9 weeks old and beyond cute. They are now 7 months and are utterly crazy. They provide us with so many laughs though!

I made this little man after having a minor obsession with owls (that is what he is supposed to be! ) Wud anyone be interested in a tutorial on how to make him? it's very easy. GCSE results were in. I was so pleased with my results. My lovely mum made me a cake to celebrate! Yeah she did ice the results on top! Isn't she sweet?!

Back to school in September. Big changes, a suit rather than a uniform and a whole new experience being in sixth form.

we had a picnic to celebrate a friends birthday! I took hundreds of pictures for my photography A Level! No jokes, I have far too many now!

and finally here we are at christmas! Thanks for reading about this past year. I have had an awesome time. Might share a few things later or tommorow about a last minute decoration you can make!

Thanks for reading

Loves xxxxx

Favourite moments/photos of 2009 Part 2

Ok, the second part of a year in review is coming up. It's actually really lovely looking back through pictures I had forgotten I had taken...! Going on a rowing camp to Nantes in France. It was incredible and I had such a great time. Coxing again next term! wooooh can't wait! Teaching my brother to use my camera! He's not too bad actually! ha ha! This picture of my mum and I is one of my favourites. One of those days when we got back from church and realised what a lovely day it was so took pictures! I learnt to knit! In the middle of GCSE's..hmmm perhaps not the best plan! Revision or knitting? What a choice to make! Knitting.

I actually lived off this whilst revising in study leave.

Me and some of the girls had a tea party to celebrate the end of exams. It was such a laugh. Triangle sandwiches, party games and pretty dresses! (this was a page I made on it later.)

Giving this wonderful woman a photoshoot for her birthday. I am so crazily proud of how these pictures turned out, so just indulge me while I show a few more! he he! (sorry!)

hmm.. the boy again. Will leave you with him...(lucky you!) until tommmorow and part 3!

Thanks for reading! Loves xxxx

favourite moments/photos of 2009 Part 1

I thought it would be a nice time to show some memories and photos of 2009. Yeah I guess anyone who reads this, didn't know me before about november, but hey! U can now know a bit of my past! (aren't you lucky?!) January. A new camera and a new years day walk in the woods with my annoyingly photogenic brother! (why is it the boys???WHY!)the result is one of my favourite photos of him. hanging out with this group of girls on a sunday evening- our little Bible study group. It was such a blessing to be with them each week.

Getting roses from the boy on valentines day. He is beyond sweet! :)

Getting my GCSE art exam topic: cakes, puddings and desserts! Honsetly when I heard it, I could have kissed the examiner! I mean how cool is that! An excuse to eat CAKE! (I have an unexplained love affair with it!)

My first go at a photo shoot. This was one of the better pictures! Lol!

Hanging out with this girl! She is beyond fun! This was taken on a beautiful day in I think April! (witness the white legs!)

A beautiful day spent with the family. One of those days when I took so many pictures that I love. This is one of many!

Taking pictures with the boy. It's so funny cos he's changed loads since this picture was taken. Kinda grown up more! Still love him a crazy amount though!

And on that note, there ends part 1, part 2 to follow tommorow!

Thanks for stopping by and putting up with my ramblings again!

Loves xxxx